Balloon Animals Easter Card

When I was creating a card for the February 2016 SOTM Blog Hop I stamped and fussy cut some extra bunnies which I thought would make a nice Easter Card.

I watercolored the card background and cut the grass from the Artbooking cartridge. I tucked the bunnies in the grass and used Memory Book Mini Glue Dots™ behind the ears to keep them in place. The sun is a peek at the March 2016 SOTM - Sunshine Birdies.

The butterfly is another peek at Sunshine Birdies.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:

• My Acrylix™ February 2016 SOTM: Balloon Animals Stamp Set (S1602)
• My Acrylix™ March 2016 SOTM: Sunshine Birdies Stamp Set (S1603)
• My Acrylix™ Hopping By Stamp Set (D1633)
• Georgie Paper Packet (X7203B)
• 12" X 12" White Daisy Cardstock (1385)
• 12" X 12" Pear Cardstock (X5764)
• 12" X 12" Topiary Cardstock (X5635)
• Pixie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2644)
• Canary Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2643)
• Pear Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2197)
• Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2641)
• Thistle Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2640)
• Black Memento™ Ink Pad (Z899)
• Honey Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2162)
• Sunset Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2191)
• Watercolor Paints (Z3132)
• Paintbrush Set (Z3188)
• Memory Book Mini Glue Dots™ (Z341)
• Cricut® Artbooking Collection (Z3169)
• Grass Border - #M46110 - page 52
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Cricut® Design Space, Cricut® Explore, craft knife, glass mat, 5" x 6½" white card base

I hope this Easter card inspired you. Please follow my blog and like my Facebook page Brenda's Paper Crafts. Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Easter 2015

Happy Easter! I needed a few gifts for men, for some reason I do not see them carrying a round lip balm in their pocket, so I created these chick and bunny boxes from My Scrap Chick.

To create some interest and dimension on my boxes I embossed, inked and used foam squares to attach some pieces.

Then I needed a few more lip balm standing cards; see Wednesday's post for more information. Since time was getting tight, I used the same patterned papers, but selected different colors of cardstock.

Yesterday I delivered Easter goodies to those I will not see today and they were a hit (if I so say so myself).

Close To My Heart supplies I used to create the boxes:

• Cashmere Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2175)
• Crystal Blue Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2117)
• Pixie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2644)
• Honey Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2162)
• Sponge Daubers (Z726) or Value Pack of 12 (Z1938)
• Scallop Embossing Folder (Z3021)

Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Cricut® Design Space, Cricut® Explore, Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive, foam dots, cardstock from my stash, white marker, black gel pen

I am a Close To My Heart Independent Consultant and the linked products above may be ordered from my Online Business Address. The list of other products and links to them are for your convenience only; I am not an affiliate of any other retail outlet. If the craft projects I share inspire you and you would like to use Close To My Heart products to create them I would appreciate it if you choose to order from me.

Easter 2015 Card for Francis

I created this card for our cousin Francis, the daughter of my grandmother's cousin.

The focal image is Lily Flowers, Design Space code #M39C16, from the Spring Cottage cartridge. I ungrouped the image, moved the top layer of the flowers to the side, then selected the remaining layers and flattened them to print then cut the group. Once the image was printed I selected a coordinating cardstock for the top layer of petals and added them to the card with Thin 3-D Foam Tape from CTMH (Z2060). I then added some Stickles Distress Glitter Glue - Spiced Marmalade for the flower centers.

I think Easter Blessings, Design Space code #M3CF00, from the Easter Blessings digital set adds a special sentiment on the front is this card.

The images on the card front were layered on top of a B&T from CTMH. The paper is Stella (retired).

The image Happy Easter (not pictured), Design Space code #M43C45, from Holiday Cakes digital set was cut from a green cardstock and placed inside the card.

I love the Flatten feature in Cricut® Design Space. It allows me to quickly create a beautiful card when I do not have the time to search through my cardstock stash for coordinating papers. I do not know about you, but even with my huge stash I sometimes still have trouble finding the perfect shade (or coordinating shades of cardstock) for projects and CDS is saving me much time.

Thanks for visiting today. If you have a moment, please leave a comment. I love to know what people think about my crafts.

Easter 2015 Lip Balm Standing Cards

When I saw the Owl Lip Balm Holder card on my friend Julie's blog I knew I had to head over to SnapDragon Snippets to see the other files they offer. I found this chick and bunny which I thought would be perfect for this Easter.

Since I needed a variety of shades of one color, I used a cardstock from several sources (I include the store name in case you want to see if they still carry it): Close To My Heart Jubliee (retired), Bazzill Basics Paper / 3 Birds Studio The Olivia Collection (HSN), Bazzill Basics Paper (Tuesday Morning), Bazzill Basics Paper in association with Create and Craft Dainty Dots (Create and Craft), Create and Craft Topsy Turvy Cardstock (Create and Craft) and DCWV Spring Stack (I am guessing Jo-Ann Fabrics).

Here are links to the SVG files at SnapDragon Snippets: Chick Lip Balm Standing Card and Bunny Tummy Lip Balm Standing Card.

I added some Stickles to the eyes to make them stand out a bit more.

Seasonal Expressions 1 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Seasonal Expressions 1 Blog Hop - a special hop from the folks that bring you the SOTM Blog Hops. Today's hop is to celebrate the new items in the recently available Seasonal Expressions 1 Mini Idea Book.

For this hop we have almost 40 participating Independent Consultants. If you just happened upon this post, clicking the link to the next blog will eventually take you full circle.

You should have arrived here from Katy Taylor's An Inside to My Heart...one scrap at a time; a complete list of participants can be found at Melinda Everitt's If You Bling It.

When you browse the pages of Seasonal Expressions 1, either the copy you receive from your consultant or online, be sure to look at the Icon Legend in the lower left corner of page 1. Some of the items are seasonal in nature (indicated by a clock) and are only available for the life of this idea book which is December 1, 2014 though March 31, 2015 (you will find the dates at the top of the back cover). I should also point out that the My Acrylix® You’re the Bomb stamp set pictured on the back cover of Seasonal Expressions 1 is available only for the duration of Seasonal Expressions 1 (until March 31, 2015) even though the icon does not show that. Also please note that purchasing You're the Bomb generates a $3 donation to Operation Smile (except in AL and MA where it is excluded by due to legal requirements).

When I saw the papers in Seasonal Expressions 1 I immediately thought Valentine's and Easter and while I have been a notorious procrastinator for a lot of my life, I am trying to do better so I thought this was a perfect time to get a jump-start of my Spring crafting.

I created these Valentine's boxes for my nieces.

On the top box I used Hollyhock pigment ink; on the bottom box I use VersaMark ink.

So I would be certain to stamp in the correct orientation, I scored my box and folded it to it was easier to envision the top and bottom then I laid it flat for stamping and heat embossing.

The box is from the Artiste cartridge. You will find it on page 39 of the Handbook. It normally has a label shaped opening, but I used a heart from Art Philosophy (page 26) and the Slice feature in Cricut® Design Space to change the opening.

I used a transparency to cover the opening and embossed it with the Heart Embossing Folder (I hope you can see the hearts in this photo). I used some leftover candy from my Thanksgiving place cards/treat boxes so you can see how they will look filled.

I also created this Easter basket to be the centerpiece at Easter dinner. The handle moves so I can either put a vase of flowers inside, some candies or a flameless candle. Since Christmas is still a couple of weeks away I have not thought that far ahead yet.

I also started something to give to each person on my list. I will fill these carrot boxes with some of their favorite candies.

I hope you enjoyed your visit today. Before you head to your next stop on the Seasonal Expressions 1 Blog Hop, Catherine Nowak's CatScrapbooking, a few more details about the projects I am sharing today are below.

Supplies for Valentine's Boxes (all from CTMH except where noted):

• NEW - Heartstrings Paper Packet (X7193B)
• 12" X 12" Hollyhock Cardstock (1246)
• Adventure Exclusive Inks™ Mini Pigment Pads Set (Z2501) - Hollyhock
• VersaMark™ Ink Pad (Z891)
• Ranger™ Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder (Z2088)
• Craft Heater (Z555)
• NEW - My Acrylix® stamp set XOXO (M1054)
• NEW - My Acrylix® stamp set Mini Valentine (M1052)
• NEW - Heart Embossing Folder (Z3018)
• Liquid Glass (Z679)
• Cricut® Artiste Collection (Z1790) - box - #M41CF6
• Cricut® Art Philosophy Collection (Z1686)  - heart - #M46EAC
• not from CTMH: Cricut® Design Space and Cricut® Explore - I used Design Space to change the opening on the box lid to a heart; transparency to cover heart opening; Cuttlebug

Supplies for Easter Basket (all from CTMH except where noted):

• NEW - Hopscotch Paper Packet (X7194B)
• 12" X 12" Sunset Cardstock (X5758)
• Liquid Glass (Z679)
• not from CTMH: Hippity Hoppity SVG Kit from SVGCuts; Cricut® Design Space and Cricut® Explore; flower-shaped brad

Supplies for Carrot Box (all from CTMH except where noted):

• NEW - Hopscotch Paper Packet (X7194B)
• NEW - Heartstrings Paper Packet (X7193B)
• Liquid Glass (Z679)
• Color Ready Seam Binding (retired)
• not from CTMH: Hippity Hoppity SVG Kit from SVGCuts; Cricut® Design Space and Cricut® Explore

Before you head to your next stop on the Seasonal Expressions 1 Blog Hop, Catherine Nowak's CatScrapbooking, I would appreciate it if you took a moment to leave a comment. Thank you for visiting today.

Another Easter 2013 Card

Today I am sharing another card that I made for this Easter. The above image is the greeting from the card.

I used the same new-to-me technique (that I mentioned in my Friday, March 29 post) to color in the stamped image. In case you need a quick refresher, I used old "plain" colored pencils (not watercolor), odorless mineral spirits and tortillons (some people call them stumps) to color in the stamped image. I posted more information below.

Here is a closeup of the stamped image:

Materials used: Eggcellent Stamps by Jillibean Soup, Holiday Seasons Clear Stamp Set by Inkadinkado, generic white card base from my stash, DCWV green cardstock, pink cardstock from by stash, CTMH Colonial White Cardstock, CTMH Exclusive Inks® Stamp Pads (Archival Black and Sweet Leaf), Jillibean Soup Baker's Twine (green and purple), Anna Griffin/Cuttlebug embossing folder.

In case you would like a little more information about the coloring technique I used, I used the suggestions in a product review on Amazon. The product is called Stampers Anonymous Gamsol Odorless Mineral Spirits Kit by Stampers Anonymous and it was the review "Good beginner or travel kit by S. Conway". I am reprinting part of the review here because I am afraid when the item sells out (as of this post there are only 7 remaining) the product information and review will no longer be available.

Reprinted from link above:

How I use with stamps:
Stamp a design with a permanent ink. Make sure it is dry before beginning technique.
Draw around the void spaces of the stamp with colored pencil basically leaving a line of colored wax around the space, leaving the center of the void area unmarked.
With screw top on Gamsol, tip upside down to wet the sponge tip. Touch a blending stump to the wet sponge and soak up fluid to moisten tip. Put cap on bottle to limit evaporation.
Take the moist tip and run it in tiny circles from the waxy line to the unmarked area. The Gamsol break down the colored pencil line and will allow the stump to pick up some of the color. drawing tiny circles causes the color to slowly blend inward toward the unmarked center. Can add more color, or second color, etc while continuing to make tiny circles all around your colored space, bringing the color from the outer edge into the center in smooth blended tones. Lots of videos online showing how.

Tips:
- Be patient. Better to go slower, add color to get the desired effect.
- Start with lightest tones first, then blend in darker tones.
- If you have dark color on stump and try to blend into a lighter area, the darker color will transfer. Clean stump by rubbing on sandpaper, or use one end for light, one end for dark.
- Paper needs to be thick enough to handle the solvent breaking down. Use good quality card stock.
- If you use the wrong ink, it will be picked up on your blending stump. Test before your actual project.
- Do not use this with watercolor pencils.
- This technique works with inexpensive crayola brand colored pencils quite satisfactory, but better pencils like Prismacolor, Mona Lisa and others will give smoother blending results.
This technique is relaxing. Enjoy.

[end of review]

Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you to visit tomorrow for a special announcement.

Easter 2013 Cards

Last night I finished Easter cards for my nieces so they (and a little gift) could be delivered before the holiday. Here are the cards that I came up with for 2013:

I tried a new-to-me technique to color in the stamped image. I used old (and I mean old - from my childhood) "plain" colored pencils (not watercolor), odorless mineral spirits and tortillons (some people call them stumps) to color in the stamped image. The stamp set I used is Eggcellent Stamps by Jillibean Soup.

Here are additional photos of the cards (as always, just click on am image to see a larger version):

Materials used: generic white card base from my stash, DCWV green cardstock, CTMH Dotty For You, CTMH Colonial White Cardstock, CTMH Exclusive Inks® Stamp Pads (Archival Black and Sweet Leaf), Doodlebug grey washi tape.

My kitten, Dotty (or is it Dottie, I have not decided yet), thought she needed to help me snap some photos this morning. It seems fitting that she helped since the dotted paper is from the Dotty For You promotion that CTMH had during National Scrapbooking Month in 2012. Her foot looks huge here, but she is a petite mischievous lady.

Materials used: generic white card base from my stash, DCWV green cardstock, CTMH Dotty For You, CTMH Colonial White Cardstock, CTMH Exclusive Inks® Stamp Pads (Archival Black and Sweet Leaf), Jillibean Soup Baker's Twine (Olive; funny, my niece's cat is named Olive).

On this card I also used a colored pencil on the grass to fill it in a bit more. I does not show well in the photo, but I liked the softer feel it gave. I found that the odorless mineral spirits did not make the dye-based Sweet Leaf ink bleed, but my image had been stamped for about 48 hours before I started coloring. Perhaps that made a difference?

If you are curious about one of the cards I made last year, I created a Sliding Pop-Up Element Card based on a post by Scrappy Canuck. As I said last year if you have not visited her blog, you really should. There are several tips and tricks and tutorials there.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog post today. Please come back on April 1 for some exciting news (hint, there is a chance to win something).